Shooter sets sights on national competition - Jul. 29, 2010
John Gardner/Courier
James Boyd concentrates as he practices his form.
By Vern Faulkner
editor@stcroixcourier.caOak Bay — As athletes go, James Boyd is hardly a difficult subject to photograph as he stands, virtually immobile. His breath is almost non-existent. Only his eyes blink as he stares down the long shaft of his highly specialized rifle.
This is a world the 14-year-old has come to love, one that leaves him tired after a day’s competition, despite the obvious lack of activity.
Boyd is the only Charlotte County resident who will participate in Saturday’s Canada Games shooting trials, to be held in Oak Bay.
He tried the sport out a year and a half ago, at the urging of a friend.
“I went there and I got a pretty good mark for the first time ever shooting,” he recalled. From there, he kept returning, to see if he could improve.
Since then, he has, indeed improved. In the year and half since he started shooting, Boyd is now able to challenge for a chance to compete on the national stage.
To get there, Boyd has to show an 80 per cent shooting accuracy in three of the next four Maritime trials. Two of those events will be held at the local range.
When asked how the sport has benefited him, Boyd is quick to explain that shooting has built his mind far more than his body.
“It’s helped me a lot with my concentration,” he said.
That said, there is a physical demand to accurate shooting. The path to accuracy lies in keeping the entire body as motionless as possible. Boyd has been taught to inhale twice, then let half the breath escape from his second breath before halting all breathing. The goal is to release a shot from the rifle – perched atop a gloved hand and held as motionlessly as possible in the other – between heartbeats, aiming at a target 10 metres away.
That requires strength, muscle control and good cardiovascular conditioning. It is to an athlete’s benefit to have as low a heart rate as possible. That’s why Boyd’s training includes weightlifting and aerobic conditioning through cycling.
“My lungs ... I find that they’re better if I lift weights. That’s helped me with my structure, my breathing.”
Never one to show interest in organized team sports, or the standard athletic opportunities others might pursue, Boyd said he frequently finds himself defending the physical and mental challenges of target shooting.
Good performances come from solid physical foundation, an eye for accuracy and incredible concentration, Boyd related: it’s tough, and a day’s competition will leave he and other athletes exhausted from both physical exertion and mental fatigue.
Hopes for the future
Shooting in the area is overseen by the St. Croix Sportsman Club. Boyd credits the club for assisting him in pursuing his dream of competing at a national level. The club supports competition-level athletes by supplying the shooting suit and rifle, as well as special footwear and gloves.
Boyd, a soft-spoken young man, says that he’s not just thinking of his own future.
“I want to go to the Canada Games, and go to some competitions to try and help my club out,” he said.
A little publicity, he reasons, can only help the club.
“Maybe,” he reasons, “other people will want to join up.”
In the trials, Boyd must take 60 shots at concentric-ringed targets. He harbours no misconceptions about the challenge that lays ahead.
“It’s quite the job, but it’s getting better now, because I’m getting more physically and mentally (capable).”
The Canada Games trials begin Saturday, at 9 a.m., at the St. Croix Sportsman Club range located at 489 Highway 170.
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